BIRMINGHAM, Al. - Missouri gymnastics joined Arkansas, Auburn and Kentucky Saturday afternoon at the BJCC Arena for the first session of the 2014 SEC Championships. Junior Rachel Updike's score of 9.900 on vault tied for the session lead and earned her 2014 All-SEC honors, as Missouri recorded a 194.650 team total.

The Tigers began their competition on the floor exercise. Junior Laura Kappler turned in a team leading score of 9.700 in the fourth position, and was followed by scores of 9.675 each from freshmen Angie Kern and Anna Bowers. Missouri closed their first event with a 48.175 total, and stood in third place overall after one rotation.

Up next for Missouri in Birmingham, Al. was a trip to vault. The Tigers would respond nicely after their first event, and finished their turn on the apparatus with a 48.850 event total. Kern, sophomore Miranda Eubank and freshman Alyson Heimsath each tallied scores of 9.750 to get Missouri started. After a 9.700 from Kappler, junior Rachel Updike anchored the vault lineup with an impressive 9.900 score. Updike's turn on vault was her first competition in three weeks, as she recovered from an injury she suffered prior to the team's meet at LSU on Feb. 28.

Missouri's third rotation was on the uneven bars, and the Tigers looked to continue their season long success on the event. Up second in the lineup, sophomore Blair Elmore posted a 9.700 and was followed by a strong 9.800 score from junior Briana Conkle. Freshman Sasha Sander and Eubank were up next, and each tallied strong scores of 9.825 apiece. Junior Rebecca Johnson closed out the event with another strong performance, and finished with a team leading 9.850 score. For the event, the Tigers recorded a 49.000 total which marked the fifth time this season that Missouri hit a 49.000 or above event total.

To close out their 2014 SEC Championships, the Tigers moved their way towards the balance beam. In her Missouri gymnastics career finale, senior Mackenzie McGill kicked things off with a solid 9.750 score. Heimsath and Kappler continued the strong Missouri start on the event, after hitting scores of 9.700 and 9.725 respectively. Updike anchored the event for Missouri, and recorded a team leading score of 9.825.
The Tigers closed their fourth and final rotation with an event total of 48.625.

Missouri's total team score of 194.650 resulted in a fourth place finish in the first session of the SEC Championships. The second and final session of today's conference tournament will include Florida, LSU, Alabama, and Georgia.

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